Audlem Cemetery – Part II – War Graves and Paupers' Graves

Ed – this is the second of a three part history of Audlem Cemetery.

War graves

We have 7 War Graves , purchased by the Imperial War Graves Commission. I say purchased but no fees were levied for these war graves. Interred within the War graves are Privates, a Gunner , a Driver and a Rifleman . Ranging in age from 19 to 41 . All died between 1917 and 1920 . Today – every other year , the War Grave Commission comes here to check the graves and clean the headstones and we are paid a yearly fee of £56 to ensure full maintenance.

Down towards the bottom- on the left of the first path , we have the grave of a German count, Robert Von Trutzschler-Falkenstein , 1940 . Aged 64 years. Two German prisoners of war were initially buried here after they died – working here on farms -but were then subsequently disinterred on the orders of The Home Office and reburied in the German War Graves Cemetery at Cannock Chase.

Paupers' Graves

In the late 19th century and early 20th, those who could not afford a funeral and burial were interred "on the parish" with the costs being born by the local council. These burials of paupers were in common graves, with at times having 7 persons in the same plot. Buried – just wrapped in a sheet.

As I stated earlier, we had both consecrated areas and non-consecrated . A throwback to the power of the Church of England. In 1998/9, Bill Seville , the then minister of the Methodist Church ,was approached and asked that he bless all of the cemetery and so banish the unconsecrated element .
All the land is therefore consecrated land.

On taking on the task of running the cemetery in late 2000, I did research into the area down, at the bottom of the consecrated side of the cemetery – to the left of the first path . At that time it was a heap of waste soil with a thriving "city" of rabbit burros and tangled briars. I had all of this removed and the ground made good as part of the lawn surface we have all over. In this "forgotten area" were many of the pauper's graves. As listed in the ancient registers.

But forgotten – with not a mark as to their passing.

I am delighted to say that when I sought permission to commission a memorial to about 80 such persons – ranging from just hours old – from the now Audlem Burial Committee , I was given permission to proceed. This block of finest granite – hewn from the mountains of Madras ( now known as Chennai) in eastern India-(where the best granite of the world is sourced) – is now in place in roughly the area of the paupers burial plots- down the first path- and bearing their names and dates and ages . A marker for them as having truly existed.